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The Breakdown: Codecademy's Growth in the First Seven Days

By the end of Saturday, Jan. 7, 199,000 people had signed up for Code Year.

One slight hurdle: None is a paying subscriber.“It’s a natural thing for startups to transition from getting users to generating revenue,” Sims argues, “Not to say that money isn’t a concern.” (Though he'd sooner release his proprietary code as reveal his burn rate.)

Codecademy is considering a variety of ways to monetize, including charging users for premium content like video tutorials and lessons veiled as interactive games. As for the programmers who currently create much of the company’s content gratis? Sims says there may be money in connecting that talent with products, services, even employers - all for a cut.

While Codecademy can't possibly sustain its initial growth spurt, it is getting a lift from endorsements by the Kauffman Foundation and tech giants Foursquare and Twilio. There's also an upcoming partnership with the White House to teach programming to underprivileged youth.